A New Guardian
by Violet Halliwell
Summary: Edward leaves Bella but he never comes back. Instead of falling apart Bella joins the army right out of high school. Ten years later Charlie has retired from the police force and Bella is working for him at his private security firm. While on the job Bella stumbles into the supernatural world again. Will she find her place in it this time? Bella and Jake Stone pairing.


**Disclaimer: All publically recognised characters, settings, etc. Are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Chapter One

Isabella Swan looked around the party she had no choice but to be at. She loved her job but she hated guarding rich assholes. Working at the private security firm her dad had set up sometimes entailed that. In his defence the guy she was guarding wasn't all that much of an asshole. He was some kind of professor. She just really hated having to dress up and the blue lace dress she was wearing could be a problem if she needed to run. The heeled shoes however definitely would be.

Bella rejected another drink from one of the waiters who were walking around the room. She followed the guy she was guarding, Mr James Worth, on to the stage so he could make an announcement about the storm that was brewing outside. "Ladies and gentlemen," James began as Bella took a spot stood just behind him. "I've been asked to forward that due to some rather rapid and extreme flooding, the streets are being kept clear in order to evacuate the lower lying areas of Manhattan no vehicle will be allowed on the streets. So unfortunately, we will not be allowing anyone to leave. Now I'm sure this is temporary and there is no need for alarm, as the museum is perfectly safe." Thunder rolled over head at the moment and the crowd gasped collectively. "Uh, if not a bit dramatic."

The crowd laughed, the joke putting them at ease. The noise in the room began to rise again as James began to make his way off the stage. Bella watched him as he focused on something in the crowd. Whatever it was didn't hold his attention for long. James insisted that Bella stop shadowing him, he put his hand on her back keeping her beside him as he made his way through the people in the room.

"Excuse me," a blonde woman asked approaching James. "Do you know who put this display together?"

"No need," the guy with her said approaching. "It's this gentleman here. Mr James Worth, visiting professor of antiquities from Oxford University."

"Well done. Marvellous trick. Tell me, how do you do it?" James asked.

"Well, elementary, actually. I noticed your London accent when you made the announcement about the weather, and I couldn't help but notice that you have a little baby powder on your hands and on your sleeve. Baby powder on your hands, making it easier to remove the latex gloves often worn by artefact restorers. Now you might be part of the research team but you are circulating among the guests, which implies that you're in a position of authority. When I glanced at the placard, which lists everyone who worked on the project, only one scientist graduated from a British university. Oxford, in fact Mr James Worth. And you're companion, you're clearly not married as neither of you are wearing wedding rings. That doesn't rule out romantic involvement of course. But the way she walks behind you, the fact that she periodically scans the room combined with the fact she is always in your vicinity and is carrying a gun in a thigh holster, that she keeps putting her hand on to reassure herself, would all indicate she is your body guard."

"Amazing, amazing," James said smiling at both the man and the woman. Bella smirked a little from where she stood. She had been guarding James for a while now and she knew exactly what was coming. "Flynn Carson, Librarian."

"I'm sorry, what with who now?" Flynn asked, both he and the woman he was with looking shocked and a little alarmed.

"As you entered you looked past the rather gaudy Alexandrine vase to admire the more subtle, yet much rarer, Mesopotamian broach, revealing you are a man of deep education. A mere scholar? No. Your kerchief is out of a style handmade in Tripoli. You have the distinctive sun damage of a man who spent time in the Himalayas, and yet, I do believe that is a bit of Australian red dirt on your shoes."

"Sun damage? I moisturize," Flynn said to the woman beside him sounding put out.

"So, a traveller," James continued. "But you have multiple small burns on your left hand, the type I generally see on scientists from grabbing a test tube prematurely off burners.

"Ha! I've seen you do that," the woman told Flynn.

"And your pin is the symbol for calculus integration, chosen for your fondness, I deduce, in Physics and Mathematics." Flynn looked a little flustered at James's observations. "A man with such a wide range of specialities, travelling the world, could be anyone. I lip read that woman. Yes, I can," James said at Flynn's questioning look. "That woman asked you where the Japanese art room was. You directed her to the East Wing. But it was moved to the West Wing shortly after the pyramid display was completed ten years ago, implying, of course, that you knew the museum when you worked on that display, but never returned after it was complete. Infamously, there was one brilliant polymath who worked on that display who disappeared shortly after. One Flynn Carson."

The blonde laughed, clearly pleased someone was getting one over on her companion. "The Librarian part?" she asked.

"Ah, beeswax is used in the restoration of rare books," James stated. Bella watched him closely for a moment. It was becoming increasingly clear, to her at least, that James was attracted to the blonde. "Left lapel. He rubs his fingers there absently while working. Elementary, my dear Carson."

James smiled and turned back to the blonde. "And you, I deduce are a Duchess," he said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. Bella grinned at the floor. Yes, definitely attracted to her.

"Really?" she questioned, disbelievingly.

"Or the assembled royalty," James responded. "And yet, you outshine them all."

"You call that a deduction?" Flynn asked with a laugh. "She's not a Duchess. She's an ordinary person. Her accent should have given that away."

"My mistake then," James said with a smirk. "You have outdone me, sir." He turned to the woman with a smile. "You were enquiring about the background of some of the artefacts?" He offered her his arm.

"Yes, please," she replied taking it. "Thank you." Bella grinned when the woman shot Flynn a smug smirk. Bella stepped past him to follow the man she was hired to protect.

"Lip reading is not that hard," Flynn whispered to himself as no one else was within earshot. "I can do it. Those two women over there... 'Where are the snuffy pompoms?' 'I've never circled square Idaho in the blueberry cupcake.'" Flynn frowned as he realised how ridiculous he sounded. "Nothing to it."

* * *

Bella walked behind James and the blonde she now knew was called Eve. "The _Isola Perduta,_ it went down after visiting five ports in the Mediterranean," James told Eve as they made their way through the room, Eve's arm still linked with his. "So it's cargo is a wondrous mix of European products from the 1600's."

"Which seems a little odd given the fact of a ship of this tonnage would just be tooling around the Mediterranean," Flynn said suddenly appearing beside Bella. "Excuse me." Flynn stepped forward between Eve and James, forcing them apart. He looked at Eve his back to James. "I have not seen anything out of the ordinary or anything that could be causing this storm."

"You might want to ask James," Eve suggested. "He seems very informed." James smiled smugly but Flynn completely missed it, something in the exhibit having caught his eye.

"Professor Worth," Flynn said as he darted towards whatever it was that had distracted him. "That is a bottle of rum." Bella followed along with the other two. She was genuinely confused, she knew something bizarre was going on here tonight but she wasn't sure what.

"So it is," James said.

"English rum," Flynn stated looking at it more closely. "The _Isola Perduta_ didn't just sail the Mediterranean, it went to England as I suspected. It had English cargo."

"That would explain why we've had such difficulty identifying some of the artefacts," James said.

"Oh, you've had difficultly identifying some of the artefacts. Well, don't take it so hard," Flynn said in a weird accent, slapping James on the arm and earning amused looks from all three of them. "I would be happy to assist. Where is the ship's manifest?"

"In the archive room, along with the artefacts," James answered. Flynn nodded and simply walked away in the direction James had pointed without a word. They all turned to watch him go. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to distract him."

"He's kind of permanently distracted," Eve said. "Anyway, do you know anything about this famous chess set from Milan?"

"A bit," James told her. "How about I educate you over some drinks?" James offered Eve his arm and she accepted it. James turned to Bella before the left. "Bella, keep an eye on Mr Carson, will you? I'll be perfectly safe out here with the extra security the museum has on tonight."

"Of course," Bella agreed. She turned and weaved through the crowd in the direction he had headed.

* * *

"Thanks, man," the janitor said, taking his trolley back from Flynn, as he let Flynn and Bella into the room.

"Thank _you,_ Terry," Flynn said.

"So, you're doing work during a party?" Terry asked, stepping into the room so he could turn the trolley around. A book fell off as he did. "You're one dedicated fella."

Bella crouched down and picked up the fallen book. "You dropped your book," she told the janitor, holding it out for him.

"Oh no, its not mine," Terry said. "I found it upstairs outside. Just leave it for lost and found." Bella frowned but she turned handing it off to Flynn before she made herself comfortable at the desk in the room so she could keep an eye on him. Flynn barely glanced at the book before he dropped it onto the table that held the artefacts as he passed.

* * *

"So, duchess," James said making Eve chuckle. "You work with Dr. Carsen?"

"I do now," she answered. "I was with a team before."

"Why are you no longer with them?" James inquired.

"I'm not sure they need me anymore."

"Eve, you can't let others define you," James told her. "You know who you are. You know what you can do. Do it and damn the consequences."

"Great advice, James," Eve said with a smile. They clinked glasses and both took a drink.

"Speaking of which," James said as he placed down his glass. "I think I should go see if your Dr. Carsen needs any help." Eve nodded in acknowledgement. "I shall return."

* * *

"Well, I found the thing that doesn't belong," Flynn said to James as he stepped into the room. Bella glanced up in mild disinterest before pulling out her phone. Now James was here she didn't to keep quite as close an eye on Dr. Carsen. "It was picked up in London in 1611 and then shipped to a monastery in Rome."

"Yeah. That thing, yes, deuced challenge," James told him. "No x-rays seem to penetrate it. Can't seem to open the damn thing."

"Yes," Flynn said, spinning the chest around for James to see. "That's because it has a sigil on the lock. A magical symbol."

Bella who had been half listening looked up at the mention of magic. This shit could not be cropping up again now, not here. She'd put all that behind her when she had joined the army right out of high school. Bella watched the pair warily now. "Certainly you don't believe in magic," James said.

"Well..." Flynn began.

"Where did you get that book?" James asked suddenly cutting Flynn off. Bella looked where James was pointing and she noticed Flynn had his hand on top of the book the janitor had dropped.

"Uh, the janitor found this," Flynn answered, picking the book up.

"Well, it... it's mine," James said, holding his hand out. "Give it to me." Bella was curious at the urgent tone in his voice.

"Well, it's just a copy of Sherlock Holmes," Flynn said, flicking through it. "Where is all the ink?"

"Book, please," James said, sounding even more urgent than before. What the hell was so important to him about a blank book? "Sir, the book... The book."

"I know what you are," Flynn said closing the book. "I know the spell that summoned you."

Bella froze. This could not be happening. She needed to get out of there, she could get caught up in another supernatural shit storm again. Despite knowing she should leave, Bella remained frozen where she was. "I don't know what you're talking about," James said.

"You're fictional," Flynn said. "No, no, more than that, you're _a_ Fictional."

Bella stood up then and walked around the desk. "Excuse me, Dr. Carsen," Bella said as she approached.

"Miss Swan, I forgot you were here."

"Clearly," Bella stated. "What the hell is a Fictional?"

Flynn frowned at her for a moment. He wanted to question why she was so quick to believe but he was honestly quite happy to skip the whole conversation at that moment. "He's a fictional character brought to life from this world." He gestured to the book he was holding. "His world, into our world."

"Dr. Carsen," James said. "That's ludicrous. I... I..."

"You're Sherlock Holmes," Flynn said, sounding excited.

"You have me, sir. Well played!" James said.

"Sherlock Holmes." Flynn came round the table quickly and shook his hand. "I love you!" Flynn declared. Bella looked between the two stunned. Did Flynn really not think it was suspicious that he gave up denying he was a book character so easily? "I mean... I love your adventures. I... I love Eve Baird." Bella raised an eyebrow, amused. Flynn cleared his throat feeling a little awkward that he had just blurted that out. "I think I love Eve Baird. We're... we're going through some stuff. She's a very complicated woman."

"She did say you we're easily distracted," James said. Bella's eyes focused on James and she remembered where her thoughts had been before Flynn's monologue. Why had James caved so easily?

"A team up with Sherlock Holmes," Flynn yelled happily, proving James's point. Bella tilted her head to the side as she thought it over. James had been reluctant to admit it unless Flynn had said he was Sherlock Holmes. "Why are you here?"

"To solve the mystery of this magical box, of course," James said.

"Well, let's crack it," Flynn said. Bella tuned them out then as she tried to work out why this was bugging her. Why deny be a fictional but then easily agree when Flynn identified him as Sherlock Holmes? Unless... Bella looked up at the and took a horrified step back. Unless, Flynn thinking he was Sherlock went in his favour.

James had clearly forgotten she was in the room yet again because he stepped away from Flynn towards the artefacts. Bella's eyes widened as James stepped closer to him with a sword raised. She instinctively reached for her gun. That wouldn't help, the shot would draw the other guards. And how would she explain to her father that she had shot her charge? She didn't think him being a fictional villain would fly somehow. Bella's eyes darted around her immediate vicinity for something to protect to Flynn with. Bella grabbed the only thing that was close, a large hard back book. She stepped up behind James and smacked him over the head with it, knocking him to the floor.

James landed with a grunt at the exact moment that Eve burst through the door. "Good guy!" Flynn told Bella, pointing at James on the floor.

"The owner of the chess set Stone's looking for? Right before he died under mysterious circumstances, Professor Worth convinced him to leave his collection to the museum," Eve told Flynn. Bella understood most of what she was saying, but she also got the impression she was missing some key facts. "The Italian delegation, Ezekiel's target, was invited here by Professor Worth. I talked to the other researchers. They wanted to show the British artefacts, but were talked out of it by Professor Worth. All the separate clues the Librarians are looking for, he put into place. He is the mastermind."

"Mastermind..." Flynn muttered.

"He's not Sherlock Holmes," Bella said, as she placed the book down and stepped forward. Eve and Flynn both frowned at how easily she was accepting the bizarre turn of events. "He's James Moriarty."

 _"Professor_ James Moriarty," James corrected, getting to his feet and clapping slowly. "At your service."

* * *

"You're the genius," James said to Flynn a short while later as the Librarian paced behind him with the blank book in his hands. James was now tied to a chair that Eve and Bella had forced him into. "But she is the one who unravelled the plot. Well done, Duchess."

"Don't 'Duchess' me, pal," Eve said with a glare. "Professor Moriarty! He's fictional."

"A fictional character come to life," Flynn said. Bella stood apart from the other three rubbing her head where she could feel a migraine beginning to form. Once James was chained to the chair the reality of what was happening crashed down on Bella. She had known the world was twisted but fictional characters could come to life now? After the events of her teenage years Bella had thrown herself into a normal life. She didn't want any part of the supernatural world but somehow she had found herself in the middle of it yet again. "Very magical beings. He came from this book."

"If he is a threat, why did the Clipping book send the Librarians on four different missions?" Eve questioned. "What is he up to?"

"I don't know. I've read a lot about Fictionals but I've never actually met one," Flynn told her. "I don't suppose you care to enlighten us?"

"Monologue my scheme like some penny dreadful villain?" James asked rhetorically. "Give me some credit."

"I've got to get this book to Jenkins," Flynn said heading for the door. Eve eyed Bella for a moment. They normally didn't work with anyone outside of the team but Bella had freaked out of James and if she was a bodyguard then she would be a trained fighter. That would help Eve out at the moment.

"Bella and I will round up the others," Eve said. "They should be done with their scavenger hunt now."

"Can we leave him?" Bella asked. He turned and raised an eyebrow at Moriarty. The Villain twisted in his seat but the chains barely allowed him to do that.

"Wouldn't go anywhere without your leave, Duchess." Eve rolled her eyes and threw her arms in the air before she left the room. Flynn and Bella followed behind her.

* * *

"Fictionals," Jenkins said as Flynn paced behind him back at the Library. "They stay to themselves. Pulled from books into a world they don't understand they tend not to adjust well."

"Well, Moriarty is doing just fine," Flynn told Jenkins. "He got himself a fake identity, set himself up to collect all the pieces. Pieces to what? I don't know."

Jenkins froze as Flynn was talking. "Well, I would posit, sir, that Moriarty had help. There are two types of Fictionals. Someone summoned him from his book. They called him into this world."

"And the other kind?" Flynn asked.

"Much older. Much more powerful. Iconic characters who stories are so well told, so famous, so well written, that they emerge into this reality under their own power. They walk among us. Mostly hidden, not very many of those."

"So there was another fictional at the party," Flynn said. "I just have to figure out who."

"Sir, beware," Jenkins warned. "Fictionals are bound, but also empowered by their stories. You could trap them within the rules of their own tales but they can be extremely powerful if their narrative matches the real world. Your mystery villain may be trying to gather parts of his own story to gain strength."

"To what end?" Flynn wondered.

"That would depend on the character you are dealing with."

* * *

Flynn, Eve and Bella all met back up in the museum. "Did you find them?" Flynn asked as he approached.

Eve shook her head and scanned the room. "There they are," she said pointing. Bella watched as two men and a woman approached. The woman was slight with red hair. One of the men had darker skin and looked to be younger than Bella. The other guy was a little taller than the first. None of them even noticed Bella at first as the woman came running up with a phone in her hand.

"It's a voice," Cassandra said. "In the storm. I thought it was just a sound, but I refined it down. It's a voice."

Cassandra pressed something on the phone. " _Master, I have done thy bidding,"_ an eerie voice said from the phone. " _Master, I have brought the storm. All will be consumed._ "

"So, the storm is being controlled?" Bella asked. The other three turned as looked at her, just noticing her for the first time. Cassandra tilted her head to the side curious. Jake's mouth dropped open and Ezekiel smirked at his friends expression.

Ezekiel leaned over and grinned at Jake. "If the Italian bird was out of my league, then dude she is so out of yours." Jake was shook from his staring by Ezekiel's words and he glared at his friend.

"By what exactly?" Bella questioned.

"A wind spirit, maybe?" Flynn said. "Italian nobles stranded by a storm, a storm summoned by a spirit. The _Isola Perduta..._ the 'lost island'. What were the earrings made out of?"

"Pearl," Ezekiel answered. "They even had a name, uh, _occhu scin..."_

"Eyes," Flynn said. " _These pearls that were your father's eyes."_

"You have got to be kidding," Bella said as her mind also worked out where Flynn's was. The others looked on confused.

"And you got Moriarty to get all the elements together to make him even stronger."

"It can't be," Bella said.

"Oh, I think it might." Flynn turned to Jake. "Did you get the chess set from Milan?" Flynn asked.

"I got it," Jake said and produced the chess set and Flynn immediately tipped the pieces out onto a table.

"Yes, it's all here... but the white king."

"Oh, my, God," Bella whispered. Flynn straightened up and looked at her knowing she had figured it out too.

"The King from Milan, the shipwreck, the earrings, the storm summoned by a spirit," Flynn listed.

"Will one of you tell the rest of us what is going on?" Jake demanded.

"Prospero," Bella whispered.

"Who?" Jake asked. Bella finally looked up at him. His eyes were very green she thought then quickly shook her head. Where the hell had that come from?

"Prospero," Bella repeated louder this time. "Shakespeare's magician from 'The Tempest'."

The light's flickered overhead as the storm that was raging outside gained power. "Shakespeare's fictional wizard?" Cassandra questioned as the crowd around the gasped almost collectively when the lights flickered again.

"Long story, no time to talk. Let's get going," Flynn said.

"Get back to the annex, tell Jenkins," Eve ordered as they all began moving.

"The library wasn't telling us to collect these things," Flynn told Cassandra as they ran. "The library was telling us to keep them away from Prospero." Flynn stopped turning the opposite way to face Bella and Eve. "And we failed. He's controlling the storm, and he's getting stronger by the second."

"I'll shake down Moriarty," Eve said. "You?"

"The roof," Flynn said looking up. "He'll head to the roof." Eve headed for the room they had left Moriarty in. Bella didn't hesitate to turn and head after Flynn. Eve could handle herself against Moriarty.

* * *

Bella and Flynn burst through the roof to see an older man dressed in black rode holding a book up, the book was shining with blue light. He turned when they appeared and shot a pulse of magic in their direction. Flynn just managed to pull Bella out of the way and it hit the wall instead. "Prospero, you don't have to do this," Flynn said. "You renounced your magic. You drowned your book. You broke your staff."

"I did those deeds because my author wrote it thus," Prospero said. He progressed towards Bella and Flynn. Flynn pushed Bella behind him and began backing away across the roof as Prospero spoke. "He gave me life, and the he stripped me of my power to end his foul tale. _Shakespeare_ broke my staff. He drowned my book. He left me cursed to wander through the centuries alone and weak."

"You still have to play by the rules of your story," Flynn told him.

"A story writ when magic was dying, almost gone. But when magic came back..." Prospero paused. "Magic returned into the lay lines that surrounded the world. I had wandered for centuries as a mere human. But that night, my power came back. A little power but just enough to call a mastermind to aid my schemes. He set the pieces in motion to help me find my book and break its seals."

"Moriarty," Flynn whispered.

"Enough power to find and bind this sprite," Prospero explained. "My servant, Ariel, so that I could make a storm which sets the stage of my rebirth."

"You still have to play by the rules of your story," Flynn told him again. "And your story doesn't end like this."

"My author is dead and magic's back," Prospero said. "Know this..." Bella's eyes widened as Prospero's voice changed. "I write my own ending." Prospero raised his book in the air. Flynn lunged making a grab for Prospero's book.

The book shocked him, sending Flynn flying backwards straight into Bella. Bella had no chance to brace herself and she hit the ground hard, her head slamming into it as she did. The roof swam in Bella's vision for one painful moment before she slumped to the floor unconscious.

* * *

Bella came to slowly, she could hear arguing. It wasn't in the same room as Bella but it was close. She sat up hesitantly. Pain ripped through her head and she groaned. A quick scan of the room didn't reveal any windows, Bella had no way of knowing what time it was, or where she was for that matter. She twisted sideways on the bed she was laid on. She wobbled unsteadily on her feet. She looked down to see she was still in the dress and shoes she had worn for the benefit at the museum.

The museum. James! Her father was going to kill her when he found out she had left James unguarded. The night came back to her in slow flood then. James was Moriarty. He was working for Prospero. Prospero? Really? The sound of arguing outside the room continued. Bella picked out her name this time. She took a step towards the door but swayed again. Clearly walking in heels wasn't going to work. She paused, pulling them off and hooked them over her fingers as she made her way out of the room. She was still unsteady on her feet but it was easier now.

It was easy to follow the voices and Bella found herself in what appeared to be a library. She must have made some noise as she entered because everyone in the room looked her way. "So what did I miss?" Bella asked.

Flynn launched into a rundown of everything that had transpired after Bella had hit her head. They had stopped the storm but Prospero and Moriarty had got away. At the sound of that Bella remembered she had to find a way to explain to her dad what had happened. "Do any of you know what happened to my bag?"

Jake grabbed her bag from the desk and handed it to her. Bella noticed her was wearing the bottom half of some kind of heat suit but she didn't comment. She always noticed the way his muscles flexed under his skin. She was only human after all and he was attractive. Bella shared a long look with Jake which didn't go unnoticed before he left the room with Cassandra and Ezekiel. "I should probably get going," Bella began.

"Let's get you a changed of clothes, shall we?" Eve suggested. "You don't want to be wandering through New York dressed like that in the middle of the day."

"That would be amazing. Thank you," Bella said as she followed Eve from the room. Neither of them aware of the danger that was currently manifesting itself not very far from them. 

* * *

A/N: I know I started a Glee/Twilight crossover recently. I am working on that along with this. I'm holding off on posting anymore of it untl I get some kinks worked out with it. Particularly with regards to covering the gap between where I had Bella come into it and where I actually want to start the story. I'll update it once I figure out how I'm gonna work it. Anyway, I hope you guys like this story. I'll add outfits to my profile soon.


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